In recent decades, agencies charged with managing historic structures and sites have found dendroarchaeological studies increasingly valuable, given the ability of such studies to verify (or refute) accepted dates of construction. The Ximénez-Fatio House has well-documented historical and cultural significance for the state of Florida, as it is one of St. Augustine’s oldest, best-preserved, and most studied historic properties. According to documentary sources, the two-story coquina-stone main house was reportedly built around 1797–1798, and included a one-story wing of warehouses, giving the house a distinctive ‘‘L’’ shape. Documentary evidence also suggests that a second story was added above the wing sometime between 1830 and 1842. However, after studying the building fabric itself, historical architects now believe the entire wing of the house was remodeled two decades later in the 1850s. Our goals were to: (1) determine the probable construction years for the original house and wing using tree-ring dating techniques, and (2) verify the probable construction year for the remodeling that occurred in the wing section of the house. A total of 74 core samples were extracted from longleaf pine (Pinus palustris P. Miller) timbers used to construct the house. Twenty-six were confidently crossdated both visually and statistically against each other to produce a 185-year floating tree-ring chronology. A statistically significant (p < 0.0001) correlation between our chronology and a longleaf pine chronology from Lake Louise, Georgia, anchors our chronology between 1673 and 1857. No cutting dates were obtained from the main house, but the lack of any tree rings that post-date 1798 supports the 1797 construction date. Furthermore, cutting dates obtained from beams in the first-floor wing revealed that the extensive remodeling of the wing likely occurred in the period 1856 to 1858 soon after the house had been purchased by Louisa Fatio in 1855.

Thesis advisor: Richard Kearney / By the 20th century the Confessions had become a “classic” of western civilization, yet it seems to elude any easy explanation and categorization. While scholars of Late Antiquity puzzled over the nature, structure, and meaning of the work, a parallel reception was occurring by some of the most original thinkers across both traditions of Contemporary philosophy, including Ludwig Wittgenstein, Martin Heidegger, Hannah Arendt, Hans Jonas, Karl Jaspers, Hans-Georg Gadamer, Paul Ricoeur, Jean-Francois Lyotard, Jacques Derrida, Jean-Luc Marion, Jean Louis Chrétien and Stanley Cavell. This study will focus on four of these thinkers, Wittgenstein, Gadamer, Ricoeur and Marion, and the ways that the Confessions has influenced their attempts to address fundamental questions on subjects ranging from time and memory to history and hermeneutics, evil and the will, the self and personal identity, language and narrative, conversion, skepticism and materialism, God and onto- theology, and ultimately the very practice of philosophy itself, its autobiographical and especially its confessional character. In turn, this study also asks whether the engagements of these highly original contemporary philosophers can uncover new dimensions of this highly original work that has been read and interpreted throughout a centuries-long history of reception. The hermeneutic wager is that the past illumines the present philosophical terrain, but also that present insights allow us to read a classic text of the past with new understanding. This study will benefit from the interconnected nature of the problems that these writers confront, in their “family resemblance” of shared affinities and marked differences. Chapter One, “Scholarly Engagements: A Problematic Classic,” introduces some of the key interpretive problems which arose in the course of a century of scholarly engagements, including occasion, veracity, composition, and sources of Saint Augustine’s Confessions. Chapter Two “The Early Wittgenstein: Tractatus, Testimony and Confession” discusses the confessional philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein, and the deep affinities he shared with Saint Augustine in his life and his first major work, the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1922), despite its reception and use as a foundational for Logical Empiricism and its spirited offspring. Chapter Three: “The Later Wittgenstein: Philosophical Investigations as Philosophical Confession” discusses the influence of Saint Augustine on Wittgenstein’s second major work, the Philosophical Investigations (1953), which uses a quotation from the Confessions as a point of departure for his own philosophical confession of errors and temptations. Chapter Four “Saint Augustine and Gadamer: Hermeneutic Anticipations and Affinities” discusses the hermeneutical insights of Saint Augustine, through the ways he encountered or struggled with texts in the Confessions, as well as through his idea of the “inner word” which would be for Gadamer the foundation of a philosophical hermeneutics. Chapter Five, “Ricoeur: Sin, Time, Memory, and Narrative” discusses Ricoeur’s engagement with Saint Augustine on the question of evil as well as his appropriation of the Augustinian aporia of time from the Confessions as pivotal for his narrative turn. Chapter Six, “Jean-Luc Marion’s Confessions” lays out Marion’s phenomenological unfolding of the Confessions beyond and before metaphysics, offering his reading of six dimensions of the inaccessibility of the self explored by Saint Augustine in the Confessions. This study will conclude by highlighting the themes that have suggested themselves across the many readings of this classic text. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2019. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Philosophy.

Uma vez verificada certa dificuldade interpretativa quanto à proposta do De uera religione (vii, 13) de fundamentar a religião pela história e pela profecia, já que não se encontra nesse tratado uma lista bem definida e abrangente dos fatos e das profecias que, concatenados numa argumentação cerrada, formariam o fundamento da religião católica em oposição às heresias e aos cismas, a questão naturalmente consiste em saber se essa lacuna é suprida nos escritos subsequentes, ou seja, nos escritos do presbiterado de Agostinho. Seguindo a hipótese de que o fundamento histórico-profético da religião, a qual está intimamente unida à filosofia (De uera religione, v, 8), surge na pregação presbiteral, seja em sermões, seja em ensinamentos orais como as Enarrationes in Psalmos 1-32, pode-se descobrir que tal fundamentação aparece nos sermões que tratam do credo católico, o Sermão 214 e o De fide et symbolo, mas também nas interpretações histórico-proféticas da Enarratio in Psalmo 1 e da Enarratio in Psalmo 7. Quanto à contraparte moral dessa fundamentação da religião, isso pode ser visto no Sermão 252, já que ali a reflexão sobre os fatos e as profecias acerca de Cristo e da Igreja, bem como sobre as profecias escatológicas, são utilizadas para uma exortação moral: os fiéis devem se abster de todo interesse temporal e carnal na Igreja e buscar, por conseguinte, o que é eterno e espiritual, para que assim possam entrar no Reino dos Céus, que é mais excelso do que qualquer bem terreno. / Once verified certain interpretative difficulty in the proposal of De uera religione (vii, 13) to found religion on history and prophecy, since there is not in this treatise a clear and comprehensive list of facts and prophecies that, concatenated in a tight argumentation, could form the foundation of Catholic religion in opposition to the heresies and schisms, the natural question is whether this gap is supplied in subsequent writings, that is, in the writings of Augustine\'s priesthood. Following the hypothesis that the historical and prophetic foundation of religion, which is closely linked to philosophy (De uera religione, v, 8), appears in the priestly preaching, whether in sermons, whether in oral teachings as Enarrationes in Psalmos 1-32, this can be seen in the sermons dealing with the Catholic creed, Sermon 214 and De fide et symbolo, but also in the historical and prophetic interpretations of Enarratio in Psalmo 1 and Enarratio in Psalmo 7. Concerning the moral counterpart of the foundation of religion, we can see it in Sermon 252, because the meditation on eschatological prophecies and on facts and prophecies about Christ and the Church is used for a moral exhortation: the faithful must abstain from all temporal and carnal interest in the Church and seek, therefore, what is eternal and spiritual, so that they may enter the Kingdom of Heaven, that is higher than any earthly good.

O donatismo, uma dissidência religiosa cristã, ocupou um lugar de destaque na cristandade africana entre os séculos IV e V, dividindo-a e polarizando-a em duas vertentes, sendo o foco da atenção de importantes pensadores do período, como Agostinho de Hipona e Optato de Milevo. Sua singularidade advém de se tratar, em sua gênese, de uma querela quanto à conduta moral do clero. Em uma época de dissidências doutrinárias principalmente trinitárias, o donatismo foi considerado como um desdobramento das perseguições perpetradas por Diocleciano; estas teriam deixado vestígios indeléveis, sementes para novos desentendimentos geradores de cismas e divisões. O presente estudo busca explorar as noções básicas de retórica, ou retórica cristã (conforme esta era entendida por Agostinho), e a delimitação do ethos constituído para a vertente donatista pelo bispo de Hipona, seu adversário. A partir da premissa de que o que estava realmente em jogo na querela era a definição de qual das vertentes era verdadeiramente a portadora do legado de Cristo, a presente pesquisa procura abordar duas questões fundamentais na gênese da mesma: a concepção de via salvífica e o batismo. Almeja-se, portanto, investigar o ethos retórico imputado aos donatistas por Agostinho por meio de uma consideração da representação e das justificativas da dissidência presentes nos tratados anti-donatistas desse tão célebre autor. / Donatism was a particularly significant Christian dissidence within African Christianity between the 4th and 5th centuries AD, one that split Christians into two highly polarized factions and became an object of study for important thinkers of the period, such as Augustine of Hippo and Optatus of Milevis. Its uniqueness comes from the fact that it originally consisted of a quarrel concerning the moral conduct of members of the clergy. At a time of doctrinarian disagreements that were mostly of a Trinitarian nature, Donatism was regarded as having unfolded from the religious persecutions perpetrated by Diocletian; the latter were seen as having left an indelible mark upon Christianity, and as having sowed the seeds for future discord and schisms. It is the intention of the present study to investigate the basic notions of rhetoric, particularly as applied to Christian values, present in the thought of Augustine, as well as the characteristics of the ethos said author gradually built for his adversaries, the Donatists. Starting from the premise that what was really at stake in the controversy was determining which of the two factions was the true bearer of the legacy of Christ, the investigation seeks to approach two issues at the heart of the quarrel: namely, the notion of a true path to salvation and the sacrament of baptism. Its aim is, therefore, to analyze the rhetorical ethos Augustine characterized the Donatists with by means of a consideration of the way this particular dissidence was portrayed in the anti-Donatist treatises produced by the celebrated bishop of Hippo.

Thesis advisor: Steven F. Brown / Despite several centuries of scholarly activity, one of the most outstanding figures of the twelfth-century renaissance, Honorius Augustodunensis, remains an elusive figure. Almost nothing is known of his life--where he was born, where exactly he lived, or where he died. Yet in his own day, Honorius's considerable literary output was extremely popular, was copied in profusion, and housed in libraries across Europe. Unfortunately, most studies of Honorius's works have consisted of very general surveys that oversimplify his thought and present Honorius himself as a `simplistic' thinker. Based upon a new critical edition of the two surviving recensions of Honorius's dialogue, Inevitabile, this study seeks to redress this problem. After a careful review of the scholarly literature on the text, from 1552 to 1996, several passages from both redactions of the Ineuitabile are carefully analyzed to illustrate both the complexity of Honorius's use of his sources (auctores/auctoritates), and his masterful blending of literary allusion with dialectic, which is the foundation of his theological methodology. Finally, it is shown that the doctrine of predestination in the earliest recension of the Inevitabile, which has traditionally been labelled `Augustinian', is in fact based, in large measure, on the teachings of John Scottus Eriugena. This study seeks to change the way that Honorius's texts are read and interpreted, in the firm conviction that only by engaging with the intricacies of his sources and methodology, can his true achievement be understood and the purpose behind his vast corpus of writings be grasped. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2013. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Theology.

Thesis advisor: Stephen J. Pope / Transitional justice responds to injustices and violations of human rights following a period of repressive rule or civil war. This dissertation argues that the needs of post-conflict societies are best served by local, participatory approaches to transitional justice. In the case of Guatemala, it was essential for the nation to embrace its common religious narrative as a resource for rebuilding the republic. The Guatemalan Catholic Church worked to build peace out of the ashes of state sponsored terror. It demonstrated the prophetic role of the Church by offering a collective voice condemning those in positions of authority for their neglect of the basic human rights of the majority of Guatemalans. The CEG also highlighted the reconciliatory function of the Church by promoting forgiveness and reconciliation within the public square. This experience calls for theological ethical reflection on how the Catholic Church could best serve the needs of civil society in the wake of nearly forty years of political violence. Responding to the need for critical theological reflection, this dissertation proposes a transformationalist understanding of the relation of love to justice for transitional justice. It draws its inspiration from a selective reading of Augustine and Augustinian scholarship. An Augustinian approach to transitional justice brings together the high moral ideas of love, justice, forgiveness, and peace while at the same time acknowledging the ever-present reality of sin and human weakness. It attempts to transform a post-conflict society into a moral community whose citizens are on a journey toward the destination of temporal peace. It realizes that we may never reach our destination of temporal peace, but we can glimpse it from afar. This dissertation offers the following ten Augustinian insights as a framework for a theological approach to transitional justice. 1) Charity is the motivating force for transitional justice and the pursuit of socio-political reconciliation; 2) Charity transforms our understanding of justice from noninterference and retribution to rehabilitating and reconciling; 3) Transitional justice ought to be contextual, paying attention to the unique concerns of a given post-conflict society; 4) Distinguishing, without bifurcating, the ends of the temporal and celestial commonwealths offers a positive, but not naïve, evaluation of the Church’s potential to be an instrument of social transformation; 5) Post-conflict societies need to foster conditions that allow for pluralism and social cohesion through civic friendship; 6) Post-conflict societies must develop social practices to train citizens in the civic virtues of love, justice, and friendship; 7) Transitional justice requires an ethical retrieval of the truth through the healing of memory; 8) Transitional justice upholds the moral obligation to admonish and correct sinful social behavior; 9) Transitional justice ought to foster the just and prudential protection of society through the use of coercive force on behalf of society’s most vulnerable citizens; and 10) Post-conflict societies need to cultivate and sustain an ethos of active hope that, far from inducing political passivity, promotes civic engagement. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2015. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Theology.

O objetivo desta tese consiste em avaliar, sob um prisma fenomenológico, as concepções presentes na obra de Santo Agostinho referentes ao uso da reflexão como instrumento do conhecimento de si. Para isso, analisamos as obras As confissões (397d.C.) A trindade (416 d.C.) e fragmentos de outras obras em que ele aborda o tema da reflexão. Consideramos dois diferentes níveis em que as ideias se encontram presentes nas obras: nas descrições de estados subjetivos narrados em primeira pessoa por Agostinho nas Confissões e nas exposições feitas por Agostinho em outras de suas obras. Investigamos alguns temas que se mostraram de grande importância para se compreender o papel da reflexão em Agostinho. Em primeiro lugar, o espírito humano entendido como uma realidade íntima, um ser reflexivo e imaterial. Em segundo lugar, analisamos o papel do método reflexivo em suas investigações acerca da memória, da percepção e das inter-relações entre o corpo e a mente. Em terceiro lugar procuramos observar como Agostinho compreende a vida do espírito em suas inter-relações com o mundo e com Deus. Na segunda parte da tese, os temas foram retomados e abordados sob um prisma fenomenológico. Para isso procuramos expor e avaliar, no que tange aos temas abordados por Agostinho, o percurso metodológico traçado por Husserl em Ideias 1 (1913) e Ideias 2 (1952). Na terceira parte da tese, fizemos uma análise comparativa entre as concepções e os métodos adotados pelos dois autores. Observamos que, embora haja diferenças no modo de aplicar a reflexão, muitas das conclusões tiradas por Husserl já haviam sido antecipadas por Agostinho, embora, neste, com um menor nível de rigor. Merecem destaque os seguintes pontos abordados primeiramente por Agostinho e posteriormente desenvolvidos por Husserl: 1) a mente é uma realidade íntima e indubitável; 2) a essência da mente é sua reflexividade, sua capacidade de apreender-se a si mesma; 3) a atenção ou intentio voluntatis é um fator constituinte do ato de percepção e de qualquer ato do cogito; 4) o tempo é abordado por Agostinho não como realidade independente do espírito, mas sim como uma realidade vinculada ao espírito, de modo que o passado, o presente e o futuro são articulados com a memória, a atenção e a expectativa. Em suma, o objetivo das análises e comparações é contribuir para uma visão mais rica e complexa da história do método reflexivo e, ao mesmo tempo, defender sua legitimidade e seu valor cognitivo. A reflexão é instrumento intelectual capaz de fornecer não só conhecimentos seguros sobre a estrutura apodíctica da consciência e dos diferentes estratos da pessoa humana, como também é válida para que cada indivíduo possa conhecer a si mesmo em sua singularidade. E essa individualização é marcada por fatores psíquicos, corpóreos e pelo mundo espiritual do sujeito, isto é, pelo mundo da vida. / The objective of this thesis is to evaluate, under a phenomenological perspective, the concepts present in the work of St. Augustine regarding the use of reflection as a tool of self-knowledge. We study the works Confessions (397AD) The Trinity (416AD) and fragments of other works in which he addresses the topic of reflection. We consider two different levels at which ideas are in his works: the descriptions of subjective states narrated in first person by Augustine in the Confessions and the presentations made by Augustine in his other works. Some themes have proved of great importance for understanding the role of reflection in the Augustine\'s works. Firstly, we analyze how Augustine develops the concept of mind understood as an inner reality, self-consciousness, characterized as immaterial substance. Secondly, we examined the role of the reflective method in his researches on memory, on perception and on the strata of the human person. Thirdly we analyzed how Augustine understands the life of the spirit in their interrelations with the world and with God. In the second part of the thesis, the issues addressed in the first part were reexamined under a phenomenological perspective, according to the methodological approach outlined by Husserl in Ideas 1 (1913) and Ideas 2 (1952). In the third part of the thesis, we made a comparative analysis of concepts and methods adopted by the two authors. We observe that although there are differences in the way of applying the reflection, many of the conclusions drawn by Husserl had already been anticipated by Augustine, albeit with a lower level of rigor. In particular the following points addressed first by Augustine and later developed by Husserl: 1) the mind is an intimate and undeniable reality. 2) The essence of mind is its reflexivity, its ability to know herself directly. 3) attention or intentio voluntatis is a constituent factor of the act of perception 4) the time is approached by Augustine not as a reality independent of mind, but as a reality linked to the spirit, so that the past, present and future are articulated with memory, attention and expectation. In short, the purpose of analysis and comparisons is to contribute to a richer and complex history of the reflective method and at the same time maintaining its legitimacy and its cognitive value. Reflection is an intellectual instrument able to provide apodictic knowledge of the structure of consciousness, about the different strata of the human person, and helps individuals to know himself in his uniqueness. And that individualization is marked by psychological factors, by corporal\'s factors and by his world of life.

Nas Confissões de Agostinho de Hipona, o episódio do furto das peras, localizado no livro segundo, é possivelmente um dos dois momentos mais importantes no percurso dos seus seis primeiros livros. No entanto, tem boa parte de seu potencial filosófico desprezado. Os comentários são numerosos, mas os melhores tratam-no do ponto de vista de sua composição. Já os trabalhos filosóficos sobre o episódio não têm nem a mesma frequência, nem o mesmo fôlego. O que é de se lamentar bastante, visto o potencial que o episódio tem de fazer pensar. A fim de mudar um pouco este cenário, o que se pretende com essa dissertação é uma leitura mais atenta deste episódio. Planeja-se, em dois capítulos, cumprir dois estudos a seu respeito. Um primeiro, e mais introdutório, visa reunir os resultados daqueles estudos literários sobre o episódio. Estes importam, na medida em que preparam a leitura mesma do texto. Seus símbolos não são simples de compreender, e, além do mais, dão o que pensar. O segundo capítulo se dedica ao estudo filosófico do ato imoral, tal como ele se apresenta no feito no episódio. Por fim, para, entre outras razões, se solucionar algumas dificuldades de ordem teórica que aparecem na leitura do episódio, o terceiro capítulo pretende pensar o episódio dentro da estrutura confessional que o sustenta. Ver-seá que o livro segundo é um ótimo laboratório para o estudo do conceito de confissão em Agostinho. / In the Confessions of Augustine of Hippo, the episode of the theft of pears, located on the second book, is possibly one of the two most important moments in the course of its first six books. However, most of its philosophical potential is ignored. There are numerous comments, but the most elaborated ones deal with it from the point of view of its composition. The philosophical works on the episode are not as numerous and are not as extensive. Which is unfortunate, because of the potential that the episode has to induce to deeper thinking. In order to change a little this scenario, this thesis has been developed to propose a more attentive reading of this episode. It has been planned to introduce two studies, in two chapters. A first, and more introductory, aims to bring together the results of those literary studies about the episode. They are important to prepare the reader, so that they will be able to truly understand te text. Its symbols are not something simple to understand, and, moreover, they require deeper thinking. The second chapter is dedicated to the study of philosophical immoral act, the way it happens in the episode.

Para considerar o livre-arbítrio da vontade, Agostinho deve mobilizar concepções já estabelecidas sobre a natureza divina, sobre a natureza do mal e também sobre a natureza da alma humana. À medida que tais concepções se modificam, o livre-arbítrio da vontade assume contornos diversos até obter sua forma mais acabada, na qual se revela como raiz do mal moral sem nada referir à autoria divina e na qual se revela também como essencialmente viciado sem ter outra alternativa senão a de aceitar a ajuda divina. Assim, se de um lado o livre-arbítrio da vontade não exige relacionar Deus com a causa do mal, de outro lado exige relacionar Deus com a única forma de corrigir o mal. Nosso trabalho tem o objetivo de analisar as tramas conceituais supostas na concepção de livre-arbítrio, vendo nesta uma chave de leitura com força de evidenciar certa lógica interna no movimento envolvendo a conversão de Agostinho ao cristianismo. / In order to consider the free choice of the will, Augustine has to mobilize concepts already established about the divine nature, the nature of evil and also the nature of the human soul. As such concepts change, the free choice of the will takes on different features until it reaches its most defined form, in which it is revealed as the origin of moral evil without reference to the divine authorship and in which it is also revealed as essentially vicious without any alternative but to accept divine aid. Therefore, if on the one hand the free choice of the will does not entail a relationship between God and the cause of evil, on the other hand it requires the relationship between God and the only way to stop evil. The objective of this work is to analyse the conceptual webs entailed in the concept of free choice, viewing it as a reading key capable of evidencing a certain internal logic in the movement involving Augustine\'s conversion to Christianity.

Bien que le concept philosophique original du libre arbitre d’Augustin occupe une place à part dans l’histoire de la philosophie, son argumentation philosophique relative au libre arbitre s’appuie sur les théories des philosophes antiques. Cette thèse se concentre sur quatre approches philosophiques antiques élaborées par les Stoïciens, Cicéron, Alexandre d’Aphrodise et Plotin. Augustin accepte fragmentairement le principe du mouvement de la volonté, les formes de liberté et la relation entre la providence divine et la liberté humaine, etc., proposés par les philosophes antiques. Mais aussi, le libre arbitre chez Augustin prend de plus en plus forme au cours de ses controverses avec les Manichéens et les Pélagiens. Lors des controverses contre les Manichéens, Augustin se focalise tout d’abord sur le libre arbitre humain en relation avec le problème de la cause du mal. Augustin élabore une logique philosophique pour étayer son concept et parer aux attaques manichéennes. La cause du mal n’est pas la nature mauvaise de l’âme ni ne résulte de la volonté de Dieu, mais de notre volonté libre. D’autre part, lors de ses controverses contre les Pélagiens, son concept philosophique du libre arbitre entre dans une nouvelle phase. La volonté humaine n’échappe pas à la bride du péché sans la grâce divine, il s’agit donc d’une volonté faible. Le pouvoir de la volonté humaine est affaibli par le péché originel, même si l’homme possède son propre vouloir. Toutefois, dans la pensée augustinienne, la volonté humaine n’est pas contrainte par des puissances extérieures. Ainsi, le pouvoir du choix est toujours volontaire et libre. / Although Augustine’s philosophical concept of free will occupies a special place in the history of philosophy, the philosophical arguments about free will are based on the theories of ancient philosophers. This thesis focuses on four ancient philosophical approaches, elaborated respectively by the Stoics, Cicero, Alexander of Aphrodisias, and Plotinus. Augustine accepts the principle of the fragmentary movement of the will, the forms of freedom and the relationship between divine providence and human freedom, etc., offered by the ancient philosophers, but free will in Augustine takes on more shape in his arguments with the Manichaeans and the Pelagians. In his argument with the Manichaeans, Augustine first focuses on human free will in relation to the problem of the cause of evil. He develops a philosophical logic to support his concept and defend it against the Manicheans’ attacks. The cause of evil is not the evil nature of the soul or the result of the will of God, but of our free will. In his argument with the Pelagians, his philosophical concept of free will enters a new phase. Without divine grace, human will is too weak to restrain themselves from making sin. Thus, even if a man has his own volition, the ability of human will is weakened by original sin. Nonetheless, in Augustinian thought, the human will is not constrained by outside powers. Thus, the power of choice is voluntary and free.